Tang Yu glanced at the screen, her right forefinger tapping on her textbook a few times before she said, "We're just acquaintances. We're not very close."
Li Xiuli let out a dragged-out and dejected "Oh" when she heard Tang Yu's response. But her intuition told her that Tang Yu didn't want to talk about this tall and beautiful girl very much, so even though her heart was itching with curiosity, she tactfully chose to end the conversation here.
Once Li Xiuli returned to her bunk bed, Tang Yu quietly looked around before pulling out a softcover notebook from under a stack of books. Then, the tip of her pen rustled on the ivory-white paper, leaving a string of keywords.
Those were the keywords from that forum post.
Many beautiful photos were shared in that post, and she wanted to…preserve them.
…
The forum post quickly lost popularity as nobody uncovered any information on Yin Zhao-an. Everyone only saw that Yin Zhao-an was wearing Chong High's uniform, but nobody had ever seen her attending any class.
Not to mention, there was plenty of fresh news appearing every day. For example, a student couple got caught making out in the campus's back mountains, a certain someone cheated in the mock exams, a certain teacher getting too close to a certain student, etc. As such commonplace gossip took over everyone's attention, the post regarding Yin Zhao-an gradually became forgotten.
However, while the forum post might have fallen into obscurity, the protagonist of the post still appeared on campus every day. This also led to people speculating that Yin Zhao-an and Tang Yu were truly dating.
…
Today was yet another day when Tang Yu had become the center of attention. Sensing the curious gazes on her, her face heated up a little in embarrassment, and she couldn't help but move her shoulders uneasily in an attempt to shake off the arm that was wrapped around it.
Feeling Tang Yu's movement, Yin Zhao-an lowered her head to look at her. However, when she saw Tang Yu's hairline, she couldn't help but get the urge to laugh.
Yin Zhao-an had not stopped growing over the years. Like bamboo, she grew taller every year and was soon to break through the 180 cm mark. In comparison, Tang Yu…had been hovering around the 160cm mark for several consecutive years now.
Reasoning told her not to laugh, but her mouth still couldn't help but curve upwards.
…
As the seasons changed to summer, the weather also started to grow warmer and warmer. Even though Yin Zhao-an was currently wearing a short-sleeved shirt, she could feel the heat rising. After taking a seat under the shade of a tree, she rolled up her sleeves and parted her bangs to the side, revealing a shallow pink scar on her forehead.
Tang Yu didn't sweat easily, so she remained sweat-free even when the person beside her was melting. However, when she saw Yin Zhao-an desperately fanning herself with her hand, she took out a pack of tissues from her pocket and handed it to Yin Zhao-an, saying, "Wipe your sweat with this."
"!!" Yin Zhao-an broke into a wide smile at being cared for, and she happily accepted the offered tissues. However, a second later, she suddenly frowned, her expression turning complicated.
"W-What's wrong?" Tang Yu noticed the change in Yin Zhao-an's expression, so she couldn't help but grow puzzled and worried.
Yin Zhao-an's expression twisted a little. Then, she looked Tang Yu in the eye and earnestly said, "Some sweat got in my mouth… It's salty."
"..."
…
Yin Zhao-an stood in front of a cashier, her hands holding two plain milk-flavored popsicles wrapped in oil paper. She could hear whispers coming from the surrounding students, paired with the occasional sound of electronically generated camera shutter sounds. However, she behaved as if she remained unaware of the commotion around her, returning to Tang Yu's side under the tree shade after paying for the popsicles.
Both of them finished their popsicles quickly. Although they didn't finish the chilly treat in two bites like children, they didn't take their time licking it, either. On this hot summer day, the popsicles would have long melted if they had taken their time with them.
Tang Yu wrapped her popsicle stick in the oil paper. Then, extending a hand to Yin Zhao-an, she said, "I'm going back to class now. I'll throw the rubbish for you."
Yin Zhao-an didn't refuse Tang Yu's offer. After similarly wrapping her popsicle stick in the oil paper it came with, she grinned and said, "Sorry for the trouble, Tang-Tang!"
Tang Yu helplessly shook her head at Yin Zhao-an's glib words, though her curved lips indicated that she was in a good mood.
…
Yin Zhao-an quickly became bored after Tang Yu left. Casually spreading her long legs, she leaned back against the bench with her neck tilted back.
She might have nothing to do right now, but she had no desire to return home, either. It was even more boring at home. Now that she finally had the chance to come out for a walk, she would naturally be reluctant to go home so soon.
As such, Yin Zhao-an closed her eyes and dozed off for a while. When the bell signaling the end of lunch break rang, the campus became even more serene. Coupled with the shade and the cool breeze, she started to feel a little sleepy.
Unfortunately, someone without a sense of tact ended up interrupting her rare leisure time.
Yin Zhao-an could feel someone sitting down beside her, the person radiating a faint perfume. After taking a glance at the other party, Yin Zhao-an closed her eyes again, pretending to sleep.
Li Beiyu opened a bottle of orange soda and took a sip. Then, she casually leaned back on the bench with her eyes slightly narrowed, feeling a little sentimental.
Li Beiyu saw neither feelings of surprise nor anger appearing on Yin Zhao-an's face when the other party saw her. It was as if she did not exist in Yin Zhao-an's eyes. However, Li Beiyu didn't get angry at Yin Zhao-an for ignoring her. Personally, she quite liked Yin Zhao-an's carefree nature. The way Yin Zhao-an ignored everything unrelated to her gave her the freedom to live life without constraints.
After a long time, just as Yin Zhao-an was about to fall asleep for real, Li Beiyu suddenly spoke up, catching her off guard and instantly pulling her out of her daze.
"Yin Zhao-an, we've met before."
Yin Zhao-an initially thought Li Beiyu had something important to say to her, but it was nothing more than small talk…
Getting disturbed while half asleep was actually more uncomfortable than being disturbed after falling asleep. Yin Zhao-an didn't know if Li Beiyu had done so intentionally or unintentionally, but she couldn't help but get a little grumpy.
"Hey, do you remember me? We met before," Li Beiyu continued, seemingly oblivious to Yin Zhao-an's bad mood.
They had indeed met many months ago. However, Yin Zhao-an was sitting down back then, and nothing about her looked special. She also had her cut short. So, Li Beiyu hadn't paid much attention to her at the time.